Dangerous Revenge

July 2, 2013

Amber, 23, made headlines when she took to Facebook for revenge against her ex-boyfriend, Austin, whom she accused of attacking her with a baseball bat — an attack Austin denies. The incident landed him in jail for assault and her in intensive care — but despite the assault, Amber admits that she still loves Austin. Amber’s mom, Joyce, fears her daughter will take Austin back when he’s released from jail — and that doing so could have deadly consequences. Then, George says his ex-wife, Dorothy, is “evil and diabolical” and even tried to have him killed three years ago. Dorothy pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and is currently serving five years in prison. Why does George believe she wanted him dead? And, how was the alleged plot revealed? Dorothy speaks out in an exclusive interview from behind bars — why does she say she was framed?

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AmberAustin and AmberAmber in the hospitalAmber's head injuryJoyce, Amber's momGeorgeDorothyDorothy's friend, LindaErik, father of Dorothy and George's granddaughter

Facebook Revenge?

Amber says that three months ago, her ex-boyfriend, Austin, assaulted her with a baseball bat during an argument that she says started when Austin accused her of cheating on him. Amber says her injuries were so bad that she spent four days in the Intensive Care Unit. “He smacked me, and I punched him back,” Amber says of the assault. “Somehow, in the struggle, I was hit in the head with the baseball bat.” Amber claims that Austin put her in the bathtub in an attempt to clean her wounds. “I was unconscious. I don’t remember any of it,” she says.
Amber says when she awoke in the hospital, she had a concussion, lacerations to the head, inflammation of the brain and temporary memory loss. “The doctors told me that if he would’ve hit any closer to my temple, I would’ve died,” she says.

Austin, who denies attacking Amber with a bat, pleaded guilty to second-degree domestic assault and is currently behind bars.

Amber says that as revenge, she posted a hospital photo of herself on Facebook wearing a neck brace, along with a claim that Austin assaulted her. Media outlets picked up the story, and a scandal ensued when it was reported that Amber had visited Austin in jail and professed her love for him over the phone. “People don’t understand that you can’t just quit loving somebody because they hurt you,” Amber says. “I still have a little bit of feelings, but I don’t love him like I used to, because of what he did to me.”

Amber describes what happened on the night of the assault. And, hear Austin’s love letter to Amber from jail.

Amber’s mother, Joyce, explains why she hasn’t liked Austin from the start. And, why does Austin have such a hold on Amber?

Amber says her former best friend, Dara, stopped talking to her after she was assaulted and hospitalized. Dara declined to be on the show but sent an email explaining why she cut ties with Amber. In the email, Dara says that Amber had promised she wouldn’t go back to Austin after she got a restraining order against him, but she did. “Amber, you put yourself in this situation. You knew what he was about, and you still kept going back,” Dara says in the email. “You put your son in danger because you didn’t care, and shame on you for that,” she continues. Another excerpt reads, “I always loved you to pieces, but I have to walk away from you. I can’t be attached to someone like that. I don’t need the drama.”

Amber, in tears, says it hurts to not have her friend in her life. “I didn’t expect, out of a lot of people, that she would be one of the ones to leave my life,” she says while wiping away tears.

“Sometimes, people can’t sit back and keep watching this, time after time,” Joyce says.

Dr. Phil tells Amber that because she’s a mom, she has an increased duty to hold herself to a higher standard. “If you are damaged to the point that you are relationship-dependent, and think that you have to have the love and acceptance of this individual, then you owe it to yourself to get fixed,” he says. He offers to help Amber moving forward, and she accepts.

A Deadly Plot?

George says his ex-wife, Dorothy, is “evil and diabolical” and paid $2,000 in an attempt to have him killed in July 2010, to collect money from at least four life insurance policies that he says she took out on him. “She thought she could get this boyfriend to carry the job out,” he says. “Dorothy’s plan was to have him come into my house, and shoot me and anyone else who was here with me.” George says he found out about the alleged plot after the individual Dorothy solicited to kill George went to the authorities. “I wasn’t surprised, because I know she would do anything for the money,” he says.
"She'll stop at nothing to get what she wants."

Dorothy pleaded guilty to second-degree assault and is currently serving five years in prison. She’s due to be released in September 2014.

George explains why he believes Dorothy has tried to kill him — and other family members — before. And, hear from Dorothy. Why does she say she was framed?

Listen to a portion of a wiretapped conversation between Dorothy and a confidential informant. How does she explain the incriminating recording? And, George calls Dorothy out. “You can’t get anybody killed for $2,000!”

See what happens when George faces off with Dorothy’s friend, Linda. And, hear from Erik, the father of George and Dorothy’s granddaughter, on why he thinks Dorothy is “cold-blooded.”